


Heights are Not Friendly

by prettycheese21



Series: Accidental Hurts [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Broken Bones, Clint is a terrible decision maker at times, Experimental weapons, Gen, Injury, Like even less than usual, Mentions of Blood, Reader-Insert, Robots, Some Humor, Suit Malfunction, Team Building Exercises, Tony Is Not Helping, at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 07:27:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3438692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettycheese21/pseuds/prettycheese21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fury decides to put the Avengers team through a simple training exercise to allow the team to learn to better work together.<br/>But when is anything ever simple?<br/>Through a series of events, Tony's suit malfunctions.<br/>The consequences that follow don't just affect Tony...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heights are Not Friendly

**Author's Note:**

> The events in this story are after the ones in "A Little Off Target"
> 
> Give it read and enjoy!  
> Leave a kudos or comment if you'd like!

  "Tell me again why we need to do this stupid training exercise?" Tony asked, the metal of the suit clinking as he crossed his arms.

  
   "You people need to learn to work together as a _team_ ; you need to learn to work around each other and to use each other's assets in a positive manner," Nick Fury stated, his eye conveying enough dissatisfaction to make up for his missing one.  
   
   "Fine. Just don't give Clint a gun. Do that and he'll kill us all," (Name) responded.   
   
   This got various responses from the team; Tony began to giggle like a little girl while attempting to stifle his laughter, while Bruce just eyed him with a look that said 'are you kidding me'. Natasha gave a small smirk, which was her way of laughing without breaking composure.  
   
   Steve raised an eyebrow, "Really, (Name)?"

   
   "He would not kill us all... would he?" Thor questioned, just as confused as ever.  
   
   "No, Thor he wouldn't," Clint replied, "How many times do I have to apologize for that?"  
   
   "Hmmm... As many times as it will take to make the scar to go away and/or to erase the memory of your stupidity," (Name) responded.  
   
   Clint threw his hands up in exasperation, but this quarrel was interrupted by a now annoyed Nick Fury, "Any more questions before the simulation begins?"  
   
   "Yes," Tony began, "Why doesn't Bruce have to do it?"  
   
   This caused Bruce to sigh, "We've been over this. There's not enough room to let The Other Guy out, even if I wanted to, which I don't."  
   
   "So what are you gonna do?"  
   
   "I'm going to be watching from the safety of the observation deck. Fury, Hill, and I will be observing so we can coordinate some basic attack plans."  
   
   "Are they any more _actual_ questions or concerns before we start?" Fury looked between each one of the Avengers, all of which were suited up and ready for action, "Good. Now I've picked your starting locations; Rogers, you're leading Romanov, Barton, and Thor on the ground. Stark you have air patrol and (Last Name) has the roof-top as your sniper. Get into positions, the exercise will start in approximately ten minutes."  
   
   At that point, everyone dispersed. Bruce and Fury went out the door, exiting the specialized room. Thor, Clint, Natasha, and Steve moved to the center of the room, which oddly resembled a large city.  
   
   "(Name)," she turned at the sound of her name to see Tony, his face-plate already down, "Want a lift?"

   
   "Sure, why not," (Name) responded, picking up her rifle and slinging it over her shoulder and cradling in front of her, "Just don't wreck the rifle."  
   
   Smirking, Tony wrapped his arms around her torso and took off to the building that had the best calculated vantage point. After they touched down, Tony kept his arm wrapped around her, much to her discomfort, "Tony... You can let go now."  
   
   "I don't think I will."  
   
   "I know where you sleep at night."  
   
   "Oh, so you want to join me?" she could practically hear the suggestive waggling of his eyebrows.  
   
   "No. More like shoot you repeatedly with my pistol while you're unconscious."  
   
   He immediately took his arms off of her, "Geez okay. You could've just said let go. You didn't have to threaten me."  
   
   Before she could voice her annoyance, he flew off to his position. Shaking her head, she began to set up. As she did so, she looked out at the fake city. It was almost an exact replica of Manhattan. The entire thing was made out of concrete, with the exception of the siding being it's appropriate materials, for what she assumed to be authenticity.  
   
   After making these observations, she finished assembling her rifle's tripod. Once that was done, she got on her stomach and propped her gun against her shoulder.  
   
   It was then that Steve's voice came in through her earpiece, "Hey guys, I'm doing a comm check. Do you copy?"  
   
   "Loud and clear, Steve," (Name) responded, eyes still looking the scope, adjusting it.  
   
   "I copy you, Cap," Clint's voice responded next.  
   
   "I hear you, Steve-ernio," Tony's voice came in next, loud as always.  
   
   "Copy," Natasha said, straight to the point.  
   
   "I hear you, Captain," Thor's loudness always topped Tony's, due to the fact that every time he spoke into the comm it would cause some feedback. 

   
   "Alright, be on alert," Steve stated, "The exercise is going to start any minute now. Remember the discussed plan-"  
   
   "On your left!" (Name) shouted, pulling the trigger as a robot came from around the corner near Steve. The bullet when straight through it's head, causing it to crumple to the ground.  
   
   "Thanks, (Name)," Steve said, "Alright, remember your tasks. We don't have The Hulk's strength as an asset so we'll need to do this the old fashioned way."

   
* Time Skip *  
   
   An hour had passed since the exercise started and the team was starting to feel it's effects. It wasn't that they were necessarily tired, but more like annoyed and ready to just be done.  
   
   Everyone had fallen into a groove; Steve might as well be out in a field throwing a boomerang with the amount of times his shield had left his hand. Thor was taking care of enough smashing for himself and the Hulk, which had left lots of damage to the siding on all of the buildings. (Name) just shot any robot that got into her line of sight, seeing as how everyone else was now able to cover their 360 degree zone. Natasha just went on with shooting, seeing as there was nothing else for her to do. For a while, Tony had taken to telling really bad puns, but that died down when he ran out after ten. Then there was Clint.  
   
   He'd been plotting a way to end the, in his opinion, stupid training exercise. And it was time to enact the plan. He pulled out an arrow that was vastly different than the previous ones that he'd been using before. This action caught (Name)'s attention.  
   
   "Uh, Clint, what are you doing?" she asked.

   
   "I'm doing what needs to be done," was his response.  
   
   "What does that mea-" she stopped when she saw the arrow leave his grip and start soaring through the air.  
   
   It traveled and hit the lamp post that was situated on the fake street corner, wrapping a cord around it and connecting to it. A moment later she realized what the arrow's purpose was, but it was a moment too late. The arrow began to shoot various pulses of energy, directed at any moving, mechanized being.  
   
   This was successful in taking out the remaining robots, as it struck them with dead-on precision. So well, that she began to wonder why he didn't use it before. Her curiosity was cleared moments later when the arrow shot a pulse of energy straight at Tony, which much like the arrow's owner, was deadly accurate.  
   
   As soon as it struck the suit, there was an uproar in team communication:  
   
   "Oh shi-" Tony's voice came through before it crackled off into radio silence.  
   
   "Tony are you alright?" Steve questioned.  
   
   "Brother Anthony!" Thor exclaimed in worry.  
   
   "I know you hate him Clint, but was that really the way to go about killing him?" Natasha asked with slight mirth.

   
   "I didn't know it was going to hit him, I swear!" Clint defended.  
   
   (Name) watched Tony while all the chatter ensued, and what she saw was slightly worrying. The suit was rapidly ascending to the point where it almost hit the incredibly high ceiling, only to rapidly descend and almost clip the edge of a nearby building. Eventually, this evened out and stopped, leaving him to hover.  
   
   "Clint should not be allowed use a weapon of any kind," (Name) stated into the comm as she began to pack up her rifle.  
   
   "Well it's not my fault! Blame Tony, he's the one who invented the damn thing yesterday," Clint replied.  
   
   "So you're telling me that you just used an arrow that's still in the testing stages?" Steve asked, slight annoyance in his voice.  
   
   "Hey, no need to fight over who killed me because I'm not dead," Tony's voice crackled through the comm.  
   
   "You alright Tony? You were doing some acrobatics there that were slightly concerning," (Name) questioned.  
   
   "Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, "My altimeter just glitched out for a minute there. It's fine now I think."  
   
   "Well, the exercise is over now," Steve stated, "So, good work. Let's get everyone over to my location to discuss what happened."  
   
   "Copy that," (Name) responded, "Hey Tony, think you could give me lift? Seeing as I have no other choice..."  
   
   Tony flew and landed on the building, arms wide open, "Come here, snipey."

   
   As she clambered into his arms, she looked up at his mask, and made the attempt to raise an eyebrow, "Really? Snipey? That's the best you could do?"  
   
   "For the time being, yes," he replied, taking off from the building.  
   
   After flying toward the group, Tony began to lower (Name) closer to the ground. Usually this would end with the two of them touching the ground and walking toward the group. This, of course, wouldn't constitute as a "usual" situation. About ten feet from the ground, Tony began loosening his hold on her.

   
   It all happened in a matter of seconds, as the cliché goes. Tony's grip fully loosened, causing (Name) to fall.  
   
   A scream ripped through her throat as she did, "TONY!"  
   
   The comms exploded with a cacophony of yells, most of confused concern while a few were of outright fear.  
   
   (Name) hit the ground mere seconds later. Her legs landed first, taking the brunt of the fall, then her back, followed by her head. The buzzing in her ears which resulted from her head bouncing on the ground muffled the voices around her.

 

   After a few minutes of lying on the ground motionless, the chatter came slamming back.

 

   "(Name), talk to me," Bruce's face was suddenly above her, looking as worried as always, "(Name)?"

 

   "Bruce?" her voice came out in a croak, "When did you get here?"

 

   "Responsive, but disoriented," he seemed to say to himself before he turned his head to say, "We're going to need a stretcher though. She's not going to be able to walk."

 

   Still quite confused at the situation, (Name) swatted Bruce's triaging hands away from her, "What're you talking about?" her words came out slightly slurred, "Of course I can walk."

 

   "You mean you don't feel anything going on down there?" Tony nearly exclaimed.

 

   "Tony!" Steve hissed.

 

   "What are you talking about? I'm fine," she began to push up on her elbows, doubting her words.

 

   As soon as she saw them, her breathing kicked up a few notches, bringing to near hyperventilation levels. Her legs were a mangled, broken mess. She could clearly see the blood that was oozing slowly from her body, but that's not what drew her attention. The attention drawers were the two white nubs that pierced through her now mangled flesh. She knew what they were, but she had to ask.

 

   "Is that...," she gulped, "Are those... my bones? Are those my bones that are sticking out of my body?"

 

   "(Name)," Bruce began, "I need you to calm down."

 

   "Calm down?!" (Name) shouted, "Why should I calm down? My fucking bones, which are supposed to be _in_ my body, are now _outside_ my body! Tell me how I'm supposed to remain calm in this situation."

 

   Before anyone could respond, a pair of paramedics came running out of the elevator, stretcher dragging beside them. Bruce moved aside to allow the paramedics to work. As they did, it seemed (Name)'s brain caught up to the situation and the pain seemed to hit her full force.

 

   The pain was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. This pain was worse than the pain of getting shot. In fact, in this current moment, she'd rather have Clint shoot her five times in separate body parts than endure what she was going through right now. As they loaded her on the stretcher, she turned her head toward the group of concerned Avengers.

 

   "Steve," she beckoned for him.

 

   He quickly jogged over to the stretcher, where he bent down to listen. After a few seconds of whispered conversation, Steve stood up to his full height and walked back to the group, with the paramedics disappearing with (Name).

 

   "What'd she say?" Tony questioned.

 

   Steve looked at Tony and answered, "That you're paying for her hospital bills."

 

   Tony was quiet for a few seconds, before, "Wh-"

 

~* Time Skip *~

 

   "Knock knock," Clint said as he poked his head in through the door.

 

   "Hi Clint," (Name) greeted, attempting to wave but only managing to flail her arm randomly around.

 

   "Oh, they got you on the good stuff don't they?" Clint asked as he walked in, the rest of the Avengers walking in behind him.

 

   She giggled, "Uh huh."

 

   "I would hope they'd give her the good stuff. She did just go through surgery to have her bones pinned together and shoved back into her legs," Natasha stated.

 

   "No kidding," Steve said looking at the giggling (Name) with sympathy.

 

   "So, (Name), you think you can forgive me for the whole shooting-you-in-the-leg thing?" Clint asked, looking slightly hopeful.

 

   "Oh, yeah, " she responded, waving it aside. She then became extremely interested her hand and began staring at it, examining it intently. After a few seconds, her eyes began to glaze slightly over, showing just how out of it she truly was.

 

   A few minutes of silence later, Tony decided to try his luck, "What about me (Name)? Am I forgiven?"

 

   "Oh absolutely not," she responded, still looking at her hand.

 

   "Why not?" Tony whined.

 

   "Because you dropped me from ten feet up and broke my legs," (Name) looked up at him, her glazed expression now one of intense anger, "I won't be able to work until I complete my, at least, three month long, intense physical therapy course, and that's only after my legs heal. Do you realize how out of tune my shooting will be?"

 

   "You could always do target practice," Tony suggested, trying to placate her.

 

   She gave a sly smirk, "You're right, Tony."

 

   "Of course I am," he responded, seemingly unaware of her deadly expression.

 

   "How about I start now?" she said, reaching under pillow and pulling out her pistol, aiming it directly at Tony's face.

 

   "Oh god!" Tony shrieked before booking it out of the room, running into the table and pushing Clint into the line of fire while he did so. His shouts of terror could be heard from down the hall, "She's going to shoot me!"

 

   "(Name) put that gun away!" Steve scolded.

 

   "Relax Cap," she said, "It's not even loaded, and the safety's on."

 

   This relaxed the tension in Steve's shoulders but did nothing to wipe the disapproving scowl from his face.

 

   She put the gun back under her pillow and laid against it, "There. Happy?"

 

   "Very," Steve responded.

 

   Needless to say, Tony never stepped foot into her hospital room after that. He also obeyed her orders, paying for all her medical expenses, physical therapy and all. And, in an attempt to appease her, he had a Jacuzzi bathtub installed in her bathroom. The bathtub pretty much made her forgive him, but she kept up an angry face until she got her casts off, just to keep him on edge.   
   
  **THE END**  



End file.
